Travis Blackburn

b. 1995, Tyler, TX

Lives and works in Brooklyn, NY

Travis Blackburn is a self-taught artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York. His figurative oil paintings draw from a primary source of photography, with a particular focus on the work of queer photographers, as well as lived experience and memory.

Growing up in Texas, Blackburn turned to art early as a quiet form of self-expression. While he experimented with drawing and image-making from a young age, it was after moving to New York City that painting—particularly oil painting—became a sustained and meaningful practice. The city provided both distance and clarity, allowing him to develop a visual language rooted in personal freedom, intimacy, and emotional presence.

His work centers on the human figure, using color as a primary expressive tool to convey mood, vulnerability, and psychological tone. Through deliberate palette choices and layered compositions, emotion emerges subtly through gesture and atmosphere rather than overt narrative.

Alongside a full-time career as a foot and ankle surgeon, Blackburn maintains a committed studio practice and continues to refine his work through engagement with both classical and contemporary influences. He shares his work online and is open to commissions, collaborations, and exhibition opportunities.